I’m a huge fan of Henry Blackaby. I still follow the wisdom in his book “Experiencing God.” If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. So, it’s because of the Spirit in me, the Word, and the words of brothers and sisters, that I share something with you. We need to Forgive – Reconcile – Restore.

I’m a huge fan of Henry Blackaby. I still follow the wisdom in his book “Experiencing God.” If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. So, it’s because of the Spirit in me, the Word, and the words of brothers and sisters, that I share something with you. We need to Forgive – Reconcile – Restore.

I think we easily understand forgiveness. It’s a topic often taught from the pulpit. We know and experience forgiveness because of our personal relationship with Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit that lives in us. From what I observe, I believe we forgive often. I also believe we know that forgiveness alone is incomplete.

What about reconciliation? I suspect reconciliation happens less often. I just read the article “How to Forgive Someone and Set a Boundary,” by Dr. Henry Cloud. Take a moment to read it. Concerning reconciliation, Dr. Cloud says “It occurs when the other person apologizes and accepts forgiveness. It takes two to reconcile.” Obviously, we cannot make someone reconcile with us. However, we can examine our own heart and consider how open we are to reconciliation. We can ask Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to bring relationships to mind where we need to apologize and accept forgiveness. This step is much more difficult than forgiveness. Why? It takes two. Oh no, not that, right? If you’re like me, this step is humbling, and thus something I would like to avoid. But then, I remember a question I ask myself often. Am I a disciple of Christ, or not.

What about restoration? Dr. Cloud uses the word trust. I think they mean the same here. What will the relationship look like going forward? Recently, I had coffee with a friend. He’s someone I respect and look forward to meeting with as often as we can schedule. Restoration was obviously on his mind. We discussed it for most of our time together. He caused me to examine my role in restoring. He told me about an encounter he had with a person who asked him about Clay. Well, my friend challenged the person to not only forgive, but to now look for how to restore Clay. Of course, as he’s telling me this, I’m thinking how in the world can this ever happen. Frankly, I wonder if even reconciliation could happen in this broken relationship. Without it, I doubt restoration or trust will occur. I was wrong to think this way. I don’t control the other person or people. I’m responsible for what Christ teaches me. The same is true to you too.

What is Christ teaching us through all this? When I look over the last couple of years, I believe He saying we not only have to forgive, but we have to reconcile with brothers and sisters whenever possible, and accept that we may have done something wrong. He’s teaching us that we have to want to restore relationships. It’s hard and sometimes personally painful. Isn’t it easier to just let the relationship go by the wayside? Yes, but we all know this isn’t what Christ wants.Consider His example. Through Christ we are forgiven. When we accept this forgiveness and apologize, we are reconciled with Him. Because of this reconciliation, we are restored to God through Christ. We trust God.

Joe Robideaux is our new Teaching Pastor. God is Good! I’m incredibly excited for FCC. As we continue to move forward, I challenge myself and you to be looking and expecting to see people that we have to reach out to. We cannot ignore that things happened between us. We need to move on, but as Joe taught us in 1 Peter, we need to trust God and do good.

Dan was correct about the bylaws. It took time to hone them into something the elders thought worthy enough to ask you to affirm. This weekend, you did just that. Ninety-two percent of the body affirmed the new bylaws. Thank you!

After fielding some questions concerning the bylaws, I think I should share my take on why they needed updating and what the major “improvements” are.

Dan was correct about the bylaws. It took time to hone them into something the elders thought worthy enough to ask you to affirm. This weekend, you did just that. Ninety-two percent of the body affirmed the new bylaws. Thank you!

After fielding some questions concerning the bylaws, I think I should share my take on why they needed updating and what the major “improvements” are.

Why?

As Dan mentioned, working on bylaws can be tough. Bylaws make a good substitute for sleep aids. It’s not exciting, and it can be arduous for a group that only meets once a week. In fact, for many years the elders met once a month for business issues, and weekly for prayer. So, over time, the day to day ministry or operations of FCC didn’t exactly reflect or line up with the bylaws. In my opinion, I believe some didn’t want to open a can of worms and start the process of updating the bylaws. No matter what the reason, the bylaws are supposed to protect us. Last August demonstrated the need for revision. Obviously, the bylaws were a problem. They had to be updated before we could move forward.

What’s improved about the bylaws?

First, you gave the elders the ability to update the bylaws without your affirmation. This is big deal. One person I spoke with suggested it was a power grab. I suggested to him that it was a flexibility grab. For example, in the bylaws you just affirmed, there’s an extremely minor typo that will be fixed next week, not at the next church business meeting. Again, this is a big deal. And, it means that all of us have to engage with the process of bringing on elders and not rubber stamp whoever is presented to you. Frankly, if we cannot trust our elders to update the bylaws, then something is terribly wrong. I submit that if we take the process of asking people to consider becoming elders seriously, then the bylaws won’t be an issue.

Second, the plurality model presented to everyone over the last few months is a major part of the bylaws. The more I consider that model, the more I like it. Obviously, we have a plurality of elders. However, you may not be aware that we also have a plurality leading our Mission, Women’s, and Center teams. Now, we’ll also have a plurality of pastor elders on staff, that support each other and hold each other accountable. The three pastors make up the staff leadership team. This team is extremely important since they lead us and the staff. And, just like the scenario where an elder decides to step down and the others stand in the gap, when a staff pastor decides to step down, the others will be there to stand in the gap and provide continuity for us. As I read the New Testament, I see a huge difference between how the church operated then and how we operate now. I believe our new model more closely resembles the New Testament church than any model used previously.

Finally, we incorporate two words new to the bylaws, but not new to the Bible. Deacon and deaconess are now a part of our culture at Faith. As I have mentioned numerous times over the last six months, we already have people doing the work of deacons and deaconesses. Now, it’s time to recognize, ordain, and provide the authority and accountability to continue on our behalf. More to come on this topic.

I should also mention that a person asked me if the elders could still fire the pastor. Interestingly, she originally planned to attend another church. She stopped attending Faith last fall, but came to the 9:00 service last Sunday because she was running late. God is good! I explained that we remain an elder led and protected church. Again, I go back to a previous point. If we ask people to serve us as elders, and we don’t trust them, then again, something is terribly wrong. We, each of us, must engage in the process of bringing on elders to serve, protect and lead. In my humble opinion, we cannot disengage from understanding the bylaws, or the process of asking elders to serve, then engage when something catastrophic happens. I cannot envision a situation where that approach serves anyone well. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to get a copy of the bylaws from Randy Gunther. Review them. Ask questions. Offer improvements. We need you.

I pray we, the sisters and brothers at Faith Christian Community, take the message we heard from Joe seriously. Lord, we did suffer, we had to trust you Lord to get us past it, and now we need to get back to doing good. Show us where you’re working Lord, we want to join you. I pray that each of us would consider and remember all that you have done for us since last August. It’s has been incredible. Praise God!

As posted previously, the elders interviewed two people last week. After several days of praying and considering each, we unanimously made the decision to bring one of the men up for you to meet. He and his wife will be here July 19-26. Besides getting to know them better, he will also teach on 1 Peter 4:12-19 the weekend of July 22-23. Shortly after July 4th, Faithak.com will have a profile and links to messages for you to preview. It’s an opportunity to get to know him better before they arrive. I hope you’ll take the time to read the profile and view the video messages. I wish I could share names now, but I’m sure you understand the nature of work transitions.More to come about this the first week of July.

Terrific message this weekend on Holiness.Check it out here on Tuesday if you missed attending this weekend.Have a great week.

The elders spent last evening interviewing two wonderful people who applied for one of the two pastor positions we are looking to fill immediately. Both men are exceptional disciples of Christ, with obvious gifts, strengths and hearts for the Lord.

The elders spent last evening interviewing two wonderful people who applied for one of the two pastor positions we are looking to fill immediately. Both men are exceptional disciples of Christ, with obvious gifts, strengths and hearts for the Lord. It was a good time of getting to know each better, along with their spouses. Everyone asked and answered questions. I believe our opening prayer was answered too. We asked Christ to lead us, speak through us, and draw us closer as brothers and sisters in Him. Recently, I read a book titled “Rare Leadership”. I vaguely remember referring to it previously. It’s a great read, and not what you might think it is from the title. In it, one of the authors tells a story about how he came to realize, after being hired as the lead pastor for the first time, that his pedigree, the academic institutions he had degrees from, and the churches he served in previously, didn’t matter. What he discovered that mattered most was maturity. And although the Lord certainly isn’t finished with the pastor candidates, I came away from the interviews feeling that both men were mature. They have different backgrounds, education, and paths of serving the Lord. Also, I’m guessing there’s ten years between them. However, it’s obvious that the Lord is working through them, refining them and using them to serve Him and to lead His church. I’m excited for us, family. Pray that the elders clearly hear from the Lord through His spirit, and that the person the Lord wants leading and teaching at FCC also hears that same spirit. And, give thanks for the members of the search team. They served the Lord and His church well. It wouldn’t hurt to thank them personally too!God is Good!

I like to call them life groups, which I believe is a better description. For now, however, Faith calls them small groups. Don’t laugh, but I once heard a pastor call them a fad. What do you think? Are they important? What are your experiences with them?

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

I like to call them life groups, which I believe is a better description. For now, however, Faith calls them small groups. Don’t laugh, but I once heard a pastor call them a fad. What do you think? Are they important? What are your experiences with them?

Have you thought about participating in a small group, but then kind of ignored the idea? That’s my story. They’re intimidating from the outside. All that sharing of life and personal stuff! Who wants to do that, right! That’s what I thought. Sunday School on steroids. Too much work for me, protecting my façade. I didn’t want anyone to really know me, my immature spiritually and theology, my immaturity in general, and especially the fact that I sinned. And, why would anyone want to know me or share life with me. What did I have to offer them? Is that familiar?

Over time, as the Lord drew me into small groups, I began to see the value. One of my fondest memories is that of a small group Bible study on Romans. One evening as we discussed Romans 5:2, someone asked if the verse was true, could he really pray directly to the Lord. You could almost see the light bulb come on when he asked us. I know we have these kinds of revelations in corporate worship, but this experience sold me on the importance of a more intimate setting.

Later on, I received training in leading small groups. However, I didn’t take the opportunity to go all in until a crisis occurred. I can tell you that my small group was, and still is, a life boat. The fellowship and shared experiences carried me through a storm. That period of time will always be a milestone for me. I could share numerous stories of how the Lord worked through each of us, healing heartache and loss. And although we studied the Word, I see now that the primary purpose for that period was healing.

"Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2 NLT

Sometimes, small groups serve a very specific purpose like healing or it may be all about learning the Word. At other times, its purpose may be to simply provide a way for brothers and sisters to connect through shared interests. Whatever the purpose, all that’s needed for a small group to work is a host home, one or two people willing to coordinate the activities, and people willing to give it a go. I know it’s a not a small commitment, but it’s a commitment that returns much more than the investment, and will help you grow stronger together.

Strong small groups equal a strong Faith Christian Community. What would it take for you to do life in small group, to host it, or to lead it? As I mentioned, small groups have various purposes, but perhaps more importantly, they are extremely flexible, consisting of everything from a Bible study meeting at 6:00 a.m. at Kaladi’s, to what we use to call a Sunday School class meeting at 9:00 a.m., to a more elaborate fellowship involving food, or to whatever the Lord puts on your heart.

Are you interested? You can contact me at rbaum@faithak.com, or take a look at the opportunities on the Community page for more information. Share your experiences with small groups in the comments.

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Acts 2:42 NLT